


Alien Thanksgivings

by NonsenseNotebook



Category: oneyplays
Genre: Alien AU, Alien Cultural Differences, Aliens, Coming Out, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Thanksgiving, alien thanksgiving, that popped up as a tag so im using it, the ocs are just aliens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 21:35:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12802857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NonsenseNotebook/pseuds/NonsenseNotebook
Summary: I just wanted to write a silly thingthis whole thing is a mess





	Alien Thanksgivings

Ding Dong paced the floor of the apartment for what felt like the thousandth time. His parents had called. His parents never call. It always took forever to get the intergalactic line to work, and those long distance calls cost quite a bit. In his time on Earth, it seems like he had forgotten that it was almost the most important holiday on the planet Chicago. Years move so much faster on Earth, that it was hard to sync up the calendars

He hadn’t been home in years, not since he left to study abroad at some Earth college. And then lied to his parents about finding a job on Earth that was good enough to make him stay there. It was true enough that he had a job, just not the greatest one. The real reason he stayed was because of his boyfriend, Julian.

That was the real snag in his plan. His parents didn’t even know he was gay, let alone interested in dating a human. But, they sent him two tickets for the next space bus out, so he couldn’t just not take anyone. Those tickets are expensive, and non-refundable, he wasn’t going to waste them. All that was left was to explain to Julian the situation when he got back from the store.

As if on cue, the door opened then, and in entered Julian with a large bag of chicken, and numerous bags of miscellaneous ingredients. _Fuck,_ Ding Dong remembered suddenly, _It’s almost Thanksgiving too._

“Ding Dong? Did you hear me, I asked you to help me with the bags.” Julian groaned, straining to keep a grip on all of the groceries.

“Oh, yeah here, let me.” He replied softly as he relieved Julian of the excess weight. Ding Dong bit his lip as he listened to Julian’s Thanksgiving plans while they put away the food.

“Do you think we should invi-”

“My parents invited us to visit this week.” He blurted out. It was quiet for only a second, but it felt like an eternity.

“Why do you sound upset, isn’t that a good thing? That they want to meet your boyfriend?”

“They, uh, actually, don’t know that I am dating a human.”

“Oh.”

“Or, that I’m gay?”

“ _Oooh_. Okay, now I get why you’re nervous.” Julian tipped Ding Dong’s head up off his chest gently, before reaching up on his toes to give him a small kiss on his forehead. “I still say we go, I’ve never been to another planet before! I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He gave Ding Dong a gentle smile, and the whole thing didn’t feel so bad. Maybe it was time he finally told them. Ding Dong pulled him in for a hug, resting his head on his shoulder.

“Thanks Jules, you always know what to do.”

Julian snorted loudly. “That is a lie and you know it.” Ding Dong started to giggle too.

“Okay, maybe it’s a little bit of an exaggeration.”

“Hey!”

“Wh-  You’re the one who said it wasn’t true!” They were both laughing now.

“Yeah but that doesn’t mean you agree with me!”

“Oh Julian.”

“Don’t you ‘Oh Julian’ me!” At this point they couldn’t even continue, both too busy laughing at the other and themselves. After a few minutes they calmed down, and just stood there in each other’s arms.

“So,” Julian started, “Why did they invite us over?”

“Oh! Yeah there's this holiday coming up over there, we call it Winooze, but, actually? It’s basically the same as Thanksgiving, we just eat a bunch of food. It’s supposed to be a big family thing.”

“Should I bring our Thanksgiving stuff then?”

“What?”

“I got all this food,” He pouted as he gestured to the half put away groceries around them. “And I don’t want to waste it, so why don’t we bring it? Show them some good Earth food.”

“That’s, not a bad idea actually.” Julian grinned up at him.

“Okay then, I’ll go pack. When do we leave?”

“Space Bus leave tomorrow morning.”

“Oh geeze, why are you only telling me about this now?!” Julian said as he scrambled into their room.

“I only found out like an hour ago!”

“Ugh! Just get all the food together for the trip, I’ll pack our stuff.”

“Julian.” He called out to him.

“Hmph.”

“ _Julian_.”

“What.”

“I love you.”

Julian grumbled loudly in response, and Ding Dong knew somewhere in that angry muttering was an ‘I love you too.’ , so he smiled.

* * *

 

The bus ride was cold, and Julian fell asleep on his shoulder not too long after they got on.

The real fun began when they arrived at their stop.

They are in the middle of his hometown, a bustling urban area built around the convenience of one of the only few space bus stops on the planet. Their arms were filled with luggage, but they still craned their necks to gaze up at the buildings, which were higher than any other found on Earth. Julian gasped.

“How’d they make them so big!?”

“Well,” Ding Dong chuckled, “You can’t really tell but the gravity is a bit lighter here, so everything is a bit taller too.”

“Wow.”

They wandered in the general direction of his old suburb for a little bit, before Ding Dong finally decided to flag down a cab to take them instead. He didn’t like spending the extra money, but Julian couldn’t handle walking that far with their luggage in tow.

Ding Dong started shaking the closer they got to his childhood home. It felt like forever since he had seen everyone, and what if they didn’t like Julian? What if his parents didn’t approve of him dating a human? The thoughts running through his head made his stomach turn. He wanted to tell the driver to turn around and take the next bus home.

“Hey.” Julian’s voice was gentle, and his hand was soft and warm as it grabbed his. He didn’t say anything else, but Ding Dong thought that was better, he didn’t think he could talk right now.

They finally arrived at his old home, a large, rounded building, one of the better ones on the street. As Julian helped the driver take out their luggage, Ding Dong could only stare. It hadn’t changed a bit.

“OOOOH!” A high pitched yelled shocked him as he saw the door open. Out ran a tall, pale woman with long drooping ears. It was his mom. “MY LITTLE BOY IS BACK HOME!” The air was knocked out of him as she engulfed him in a running hug. After a moment of shock, he returned the embrace.

“Hi, mom.” He strained to peek over her shoulder, and saw the rest of his family trickle out.

“Well,” said an ever taller man, with conical ears that stood straight up. It was his father. “If it isn’t our little scholar!” He chuckled, then turned to Julian. “And who is your guest?” Ding Dong sighed as he removed himself from his mother’s embrace.

“Well, uh, Mom, Dad, this is my, friend, Julian.” The human gave an awkward little wave. “Julian, this is my dad, Kit Kat, and my mom, Ming Mong.”

“Hi, nice you meet you!” Julian said in his best cheerful voice.

“And these are my younger brothers,” Ding Dong continued. “Reeses Peeses,” he gestured to the tallest one, who towered above Ding Dong, with his curled ears. Julian had to stifle a laugh at his name. “Em Em,” the edgy teen of the group, still taller than him, with long pointed ears, “And this,” he said as he picked up the only one shorter than him, a little giggling child with longer, rabbit like ears, almost like Ding Dong’s, “Is Bana Rama, he is the only good one.”

“Hey!” said Reeses, “You’re forgetting someone!”

“Who else-” And then he saw it, wrapped gently in his adult brother’s arms, was a tiny baby. “You had a kid?!” Reeses chuckled. “Reese, you gotta tell me more when we get inside.” He couldn’t stop smiling. He was an uncle! This trip was going great so far, it was almost unbelievable.

“Hold it.” said his father. Thought too soon, he supposed. His father looked between him and Julian a few times, eyes squinted in thought. “Ding Dong,” he said slowly. “You didn’t tell us you were bringing home your _girlfriend_!” he exclaimed, patting him on the back so hard he dropped Bana Rama.

Oh.

Girlfriend.

“Girlfriend?!” his mother squealed excitedly. “How can you tell?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” His father continued loudly, walking over to Julian, who just stood there in confusion. “Long flowing hair, short stature, big hips? Textbook human woman! Not to mention, who else would our little antisocial slug bring home with him other than someone as close as a partner!” He laughed as he roughly shook Julian’s hand. “Welcome to the family miss.”

“Actually-”

“Yes!” Ding Dong cut Julian off. “Yes, she is, my girlfriend, yes, you figured it out dad, I wanted to surprise you all so I didn’t say anything.” He pleaded with Julian with his eyes for him to go along with it.

“Oh honey, I’m so glad you finally found such a nice lady! Even if she is human! It’ll be nice to have another lady to help me in the kitchen this Winooze.” She smiled as she shuffled Julian into the house.

“Haha, yeah!” Julian couldn’t have sounded faker, but luckily his parents only knew the basics about humans, so they didn’t notice. Ding Dong and his brother’s moved everything out of the cold and into the living room. A bright purple fire burned in the fireplace, and traditional songs played quietly on the radio. All the furniture was bleak and monochrome. His own home never felt more alien to him. The rest of them funneled off to other activities, his mother holding Julian hostage somewhere in the kitchen, while Reeses Peeses helped his bring their stuff up to his old childhood room.

“So,” He said as he sat down on the bed, holding his baby with one arm. “ _Girlfriend_ , huh?”

“I know you know that he’s not a girl Reese.” He stared his brother in the eye as Reeses smirked at him. He was the only one who knew he was gay. “Just, please go along with it.”

“I will, but only because you have to be the one to tell them.”

“Reese-”

“No excuses Ding, you’re a grown man, you need to tell them.” Ding Dong sighed as he flopped down on the recently cleaned bed.

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Don’t try to ignore me Reese, when did you become a dad?”

“Long story, but, no, before you ask, the mother is no longer in the picture.”

“Oh.” He didn’t like the tone his younger brother took there, it was too serious for him. “Does it have a name?”

“No, she doesn’t yet, mom’s been turning down all my choices.” He turned to Ding Dong as he sat up. “Here, hold her.” And suddenly there was this small, fragile life in his arms. Her ears hadn’t even unfurled yet. She held a tight grip on his finger and he smiled.

“What did I miss?” His head snapped up suddenly at the voice. It was Julian, having finally escaped his mother.

“I have a niece Jules.” His own voice surprised him, he sounded like he was about to cry. Julian was quiet as he sat down beside him, hand on his shoulder, and looked at the sleeping child.

“She’s adorable.” He said, and Ding Dong nodded. “Hey,” he felt Julian’s hand wipe a tear off his cheek. “You’re crying babe.”

“I know it’s just,” he sniffled as he handed her back to his brother. “It’s been, a lot so far.” Reeses Peeses huffed out a laugh as Julian hugged him.

“You two would make great dads.” He chuckled. Julian was about to say something against that, but Ding Dong placed his hand on his chest.

“It’s okay Jules, he knows.”

The three of them sat there in silence as Ding Dong collected himself.

“Ahem.” Reeses cleared his throat. “Winooze dinner is tomorrow, and it’s already pretty late, so I’ll leave you two to it.”  He got up slowly, as to not wake his daughter. He turned to them both before leaving the room. “You gotta tell them tomorrow. That you’re not a girl, and that you’re gay. Otherwise I’m gonna let Em Em do it, and he’s gonna make you look bad while doing it.” He smirked again, and then they were alone as the petty threat hung over them.

* * *

 

Ding Dong laid awake that night, his arms wrapped around his boyfriend, who was snoring gently.

It shouldn’t be this hard. He should just, walk up to them tomorrow morning, and tell them that Julian was his boyfriend, not his girlfriend. But still, there was this voice in his gut that told him not to, to keep up with the lie until they left, that it would be so much easier to not do it.

He sighed and pressed his face into Julian’s back and he tried to sink closer to him. He couldn’t even imagine how awkward this must be for him. He felt terrible for putting him through this.

He felt terrible for so many things. For lying to his parents about his job. For lying to them about his boyfriend. For not making the effort to call or visit as often as he could’ve. He knew it hurt them, Bana Rama especially. He was still so young, and he looked up to Ding Dong so much, he felt guilty for just leaving him like that. He didn’t even know Reeses Peeses had a baby. None of them had called to tell him. He felt like he deserved it to practically abandoning them all like that.  

He pulled Julian just the slightest bit closer to him, clinging onto the one constant good he had right at that moment.

He just wanted to disappear.

* * *

 

Julian was woken up by what appeared to be a small clone of his boyfriend, which is a very startling thing to wake up to. He vaguely remembered this one’s name.

“Banana?” Apparently that wasn’t right because the child started to laugh.

“No!” He said in a small whisper yell. “Bana Rama!”

“Oohh, okay.” He pushed his face back into the pillow to go to sleep when the kid pulled his beard again. “Hey! What do you want?” His words were groggy and slurred.

“Mama says you gotta help her cook dinner! She said to get you up early cause it’s gonna take aaaaaall day!” The kid giggled again.

“Why me?” He yawned and put on his glasses.

“She said cause it’s tradition that the girls gotta cook, and now you’re here so she don’t gotta make Aunt Zu Zu come over to help, and that she’s really happy about that because Mama don’t like-”

“Okay okay kid, I’m coming.” He untangled himself from his boyfriend’s limbs and stretched before Bana Rama took his hand and led him down the stairs.

The kitchen was bright and sweltering, and he wanted to be back in bed with Ding Dong, but not all wishes could be granted.

“Julian!” Ding Dong’s mother greeting him when he walked in. “I saw you brought all this Earth food, were you going to make something with it?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, that! Yeah I wanted to make curry or something, because it’s Ding Dong’s favorite.” He grimaced as the older woman ruffled his hair.

“Oh how sweet! I’m so glad he found someone as thoughtful as you.” She was beaming down at him. He was so short compared to everything on the planet, even her, that it made him feel like a child that she was praising for finishing a simple puzzle. “I know it’s not ideal, but I brought out one of Bana Rama’s step stools for you to use so you can reach the counter, dear.” God that was even worse. She gave him an apron and helped him put his hair into a tight bun, and for the most part, left him to his own cooking. Except for the fact that she kept prattling on about how hard it was to take care of ‘all her boys’ and how Julian was ‘a lucky lady because you only have one boy to look after’. She was kind enough, but something about how, ‘ _traditional’_ everything was with her rubbed him the wrong way.

He was halfway through preparing the chicken when something tugged on his apron. It was the kid again.

“Hm? Whats up kiddo?”

“Uh, ma’am? I gotta question.”

“What is it?” He kneeled slightly to be eye level with him.

“When are you and Ding gonna have a baby like Reeses?”

“BANA RAMA!” His mother scolded him while Julian just kinda looked on in shock. He had never thought about that, and didn’t realize that, under the guise of being Ding Dong’s ‘girlfriend’ that his family might expect them to one day have kids. “Bana Rama that is very rude to ask, apologize to Miss Julian right now.”

“Sorry Miss Julian.” The kid sounded so sad.

“Don’t worry about it, and, it’s not really something we’ve talked about, so I don’t think anytime soon, okay?” The kid looked a bit more disappointed, but nodded before he walked away.

“Sorry about that dear, it’s just, oh, I confess, I was talking to Kit Kat last night about that and he must’ve heard us.”

“No no, its, totally fine ma’am.”

“Please, just call me Ming Mong.” Her smile was too perfect.

“Alright, Ming Mong.”

He tried to return to his curry, but it was all starting to get to him. He expected a fun little trip, meet the parents and all that. Instead he was forced in a kitchen and was pretending to be a girl. He laid the chicken out onto the pan and thought about what he should do. He was heavily considering telling Ming Mong the truth right then and there, get it out of the way, be he shook the thought away. He couldn’t go behind Ding Dong’s back like that.

The rest of the cooking went smoothly, and before he knew it, he was helping Ming Mong take the meal out into the dining room.

It was time for the main event.

* * *

 

Ding Dong waited anxiously in the living room with his male family members for the food. And what a feast it was. The table was covered with multiple old style Chicago recipes, alongside a large amount of rice, chicken, and curry, a little slice of home amongst his old alien life.

They all arranged themselves at the small table, taking large helpings of food. Ding Dong just settled for a small plate of curry to start with, he didn’t think his stomach could take too much food tonight. Julian on the other hand, had quite a few plates with all sorts of food he recognized from Winooze’s past, that he knew Julian probably had no idea how to pronounce.

The peace of a quiet meal lasted for about an hour, until Em Em stood up and cleared his throat. Oh. He realized what was happening, Reeses Peeses was making good on his threat.

“I’d like to make a toast,” The teen started, staring Ding Dong dead in the eye. “To my dear older brother.” He wore a devilish grin on his face. This wasn’t going to be good. “Who has returned home, with his _girlfriend_. I wish them the best, unless,” He leaned forward slightly, “They have anything to say that might change that?” The room went ominously silent as they all turned towards him and Julian. He swallowed the lump in his throat and gripped Julian’s hand.

“I-”  
“We can’t have kids.”

All eyes were on Julian as he cut him off.

“What?” He was very confused on where that came from.

“It’s just, Bana Rama and Ming Mong mentioned it earlier, and-” This time Julian was cut off by his mother’s laughter.

“Oh Julian sweetie! Don’t worry, you are compatible in uh,” she coughed and glanced at Bana Rama and Em Em, “ _That_ way. I read some stories before of other people here bringing spouses from Earth and living very happily!”

“No, Ming Mong, we aren’t, because, uh…” He nudged Ding Dong.

“Julian isn’t my girlfriend.” His parents gasped. “ _He_ , is my, _boyfriend_.”

* * *

 

It took the two of them about an hour to explain it all to Ding Dong’s family. There were times where his dad would go quiet, and he feared the worse. But, in the end? It was okay.

The rest of the night went fine, except when Em Em tried to one up him by crying while he came out about thirty minutes after him. His father apologized for mistaken Julian for a woman, and both of his parents apologized for making him feel like he couldn’t be honest with them. It was like the dream coming out scenario.

They declined to stay more than just the next day, and left shortly after, with promises to call soon.

Julian fell asleep on his shoulder again on the bus back, plates of alien leftovers in their laps. He wrapped his arm around his sleeping boyfriend and watched the stars pass outside the small windows. In that moment, it felt so silly that he had be scared at all.


End file.
